Fairview seeks innovative ways to reduce waste to help prevent pollution and keep valuable materials out of landfills. We are reducing waste at its source, finding new ways to reuse items and recycling items that can't be reused.

Source reductionOperating room surgical packs It is estimated that 20 to 30 percent of waste from a hospital is generated in the operating room (OR). With help from an operating room Green Team, we analyzed and eliminated unnecessary and unused disposable items from pre-assembled packs.

Through kit reformulations, we divert 10,553 pounds of waste and save $116,000 each year. Our successful efforts led the Healthier Hospitals Initiative to adopt “surgical kit review” into its smarter purchasing challenge for U.S. Hospitals.

Paper-reduction pledges at six Fairview sites yielded a reduction of more than 10 percent at each site.

Reducing junk mailJunk mail not only generates waste, but it also creates inefficiencies throughout our organization as junk mail passes from person to person. At Fairview Northland Medical Center, University of Minnesota Medical Center and Fairview Southdale Hospital, we've reduced more than 6,000 pounds of junk mail overall by partnering with Partnership Resources, Inc. Learn how you can reduce junk mail.

Reducing packagingFairview teamed up with Cardinal Health to reduce cardboard packaging for isolation gowns sent to University of Minnesota Medical Center. By substituting one large box for 14 smaller boxes, we are able to annually reduce packaging by 54 percent and eliminate 8,167 pounds of cardboard.

In-kind donationsThrough our sustainability initiatives, we work to reuse and reallocate our supplies across our organization. When cannot find an in-house reuse option for our supplies, we donate these materials to other non-profit organizations better suited to reuse them, such as medical missions, local charities and schools.

With our donations, we can support the communities we serve and keep valuable materials out of the waste stream.

Reuse

Reuse storesIn an innovative effort to reduce waste and improve efficiency, we’ve launched Reuse stores for office supplies at several of our hospitals and offices. Through reuse, we can redistribute unused items to departments who need them, instead of ordering new. Our hospital Reuse stores are stocked with commonly used items, and staff can continue to donate supplies back to the store for additional reuse.

Several hospitals have expanded their reuse stores to include furniture, medical equipment and artwork, increasing our opportunity for reuse.

In 2010, we teamed up with Minnesota Waste Wise and PPL Industries to create a recycling program for surgical blue wrap and shrink wrap. Blue wrap, a material made from polypropylene (plastic #5), is used as a protective wrap for sterilized surgical instruments before surgery.

Since its launch in 2010, Fairview has recycled more than 62 tons of blue wrap and 35 tons of shrink wrap. Shrink wrap is recycled into composite lumber used for construction of decks and railings.

Partnerships that provide services to adults with developmental disabilitiesSavings from recycling at Fairview supports recycling crews from both Merrick Inc. and Partnership Resources Inc.

We partner with these two local non-profits to provide meaningful vocational and social opportunities for adults with developmental disabilities. Crews consisting of clients and job coaches collect recycling at multiple Fairview hospitals.